Prawn Toasts are a traditional Cantonese dim sum dish from Hong Kong. The Koreans also have their own version of this called Menbosha. It is a deep fried sandwich filled with delicious and fragrant prawn paste, paired with a sweet chilli mayo, which the West also call it Bang Bang sauce. While traditionally deep-fried, I’ve adapted it for air frying and baking, making it more accessible for home cooking while maintaining that irresistible contrast between crispy bread and succulent prawn paste.

Why This Recipe Works

The combination of processed prawns and aromatics creates a bouncy, flavorful paste that adheres perfectly to the bread. The butter-brushed exterior ensures even browning and crispiness, while the sweet-tangy sauce provides the perfect finishing touch.

Understanding Key Components

Bread: White sandwich bread provides the perfect canvas for this dish, with its ability to crisp beautifully while supporting the prawn paste. No crust for this recipe – You can definitely dry out the crusts and make them into breadcrumbs for breading (no waste!). The thicker the slices the better; i.e. Japanese sandwich slices would be best but no need to go fancy if you don’t have access to it.

Prawn paste: This seasoned mixture creates the heart of the dish, combining prawns with aromatics and binders for the perfect texture. Fresh prawns are good but don’t be afraid to use frozen. Just as good. Highly HIGHLY recommend you using a food processor for this step because it gives for a better texture and less time than using a knife.

Sauce: The sauce balances sweet, tangy, and creamy elements to complement the crispy toast. It’s just mayo and sweet chilli sauce. Kewpie mayo only.

Tips

• Pat prawns completely dry before putting it in the food processor.
• Spread paste evenly for even cooking and clean up the edges well
• You could also deep-fry these if this is the method you prefer.

Storage and Make-Ahead Tips

• You can make paste day before but keep it refrigerated until use.
• You can also make sauce the day before as well, refrigerated
• Assemble and cook just before serving
• Best fresh and hot
• Storage: you can store these in air-tight containers in the refrigerator for up to 2 days. Pop them in the airfry to reheat until warmed through.

Ingredients

300g raw prawns, shelled and deveined
A handful of scallion/spring onion, chopped
2 tbsp cornstarch
1 egg white
4 garlic cloves
2 tsp sesame oil
4 slices of sandwich bread
Butter
Kewpie mayo
Sweet chilli sauce

Method

In a food processor, combine prawns, scallions, cornstarch, egg white, garlic with salt and pepper, and pulse until it forms a paste.

Cut off the crusts of your bread slices and divide the prawn paste evenly between 2 sandwiches. Clean off the sides, brush the outside with melted butter and bake at 180C / 350F in an airfryer for 15-20 minutes or until the prawn paste is fully cooked. You could also deep fry (just omit the butter) or bake in the oven.

Sauce: 2 parts sweet chilli sauce, 3 parts kewpie mayo.